Well the maid is home so I should be pleased right? Except that I do regret giving back my space in the kitchen. My new knife, so springy and responsive in my hand, will now be hers. My new grill pan will be hers to use. My system of cleaning the dining table will now take one step back. I have to get used to relinquishing control over domestic space.
Why give up, you may argue, since I am her boss and the lady of the house after all? But I know too well that when you work and you are out of the house for any amount of time, you have to let go. If I have to keep my hold on the nitty-gritty in the house and still keep my mind on stuff happening in the office, and keep tabs of the kids' lives, I know something will give. Likely, it will just be me going loco loco.
I don't think I am cut out to be superwoman. So much as I like the state of my knives and the organisation of my larder and my fridge, I will give it all back to the maid and go back to work. It starts tomorrow and already as if in transition, my mind drifts in the wee hours of the morning to pending issues at work, dreading the inevitable sandstorm of emails that I will be buried under and the headaches accompanying a major upcoming event that I am in charge of.
As if the make the transition even harder, its as if part of me is still floating in the turquoise waters of Tioman. Perhaps it takes the soul a little longer to reach home. I'm still out there slowly drifting my way back to reality.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Lolita is off on holiday and so we will be maid-less for a couple of weeks. From tomorrow onwards, I will be a stay-at-home-mom, God help me.
For the past two days, my mum has held the fort, coming in early to cook and to manage the kids until we got home from work. So far, although the kids have kitty litter duty, they have been relatively chore-less. All that will change in the next couple of days.
KH and I work as a team in the mornings. We don't discuss our 'duties' - we just do them. In the mornings, I make the bed - easily done in 1min, get dressed and ready for work. Meanwhile, KH has taken the laundry and started the washing machine and watered the plants. Once downstairs, I make simple sandwiches for the kids who want them, feed the cat and then we're off.
Once home at the end of the day, we get dinner on the table. He clears the table, I wash the dishes (which takes me about half an hour! There has to be a better way to do this!) and bring the trash out. KH brings in the dry clothes and sorts - makes the kids put away their own clothes. Then he bathes Owain while I bathe Trin. Before we retire for the night for the usual bed-time routine, I do a quick 'round' of the living area to just pick up the cushions, neaten up the edges, put things away etc so even if the place has not really been 'cleaned', it looks clean!
The past few days have given me an idea of how full-time WOHMs (work-outside-home-moms) feel, particularly those with no live-in help. It's just exhausting to get home after a full day's work to be faced with kids who are clamouring for attention and with housework.
To be honest, I don't know how I am going to get through the next couple of days but will just get on with it. I think my mantra will be - don't be too ambitious. To do what is necessary and still give the kids and myself some down-time. Perfection will have to take a backseat.
It's the holidays so I will also have to plan some activity for the children or we will all go stark raving mad at home. So for a start tomorrow, I plan to bring them to the Children's Season at the Singapore Art Museum. The day after, maybe a hike in the southern ridges? Luge at Sentosa? Keep them busy and wear 'em out. That's my philosophy for sanity in the next couple of days.
I am also quite happy planning what to cook for the coming days. The shishamo experiment turned out well with my new grill pan and the kids are now fans. Looking forward to simple one-dish meals (experiments) too - seafood fried rice, crockpot beef stew, sesame seed chicken, chicken tempra?
I'll also have to give the older kids more chores eg mopping/sweeping - not on a daily basis but every alternate day?
The next few weeks are starting to look interesting... Will the kids and I make it out alive or will I prove myself to be the complete disaster of a domestic diva? Stay tuned.
For the past two days, my mum has held the fort, coming in early to cook and to manage the kids until we got home from work. So far, although the kids have kitty litter duty, they have been relatively chore-less. All that will change in the next couple of days.
KH and I work as a team in the mornings. We don't discuss our 'duties' - we just do them. In the mornings, I make the bed - easily done in 1min, get dressed and ready for work. Meanwhile, KH has taken the laundry and started the washing machine and watered the plants. Once downstairs, I make simple sandwiches for the kids who want them, feed the cat and then we're off.
Once home at the end of the day, we get dinner on the table. He clears the table, I wash the dishes (which takes me about half an hour! There has to be a better way to do this!) and bring the trash out. KH brings in the dry clothes and sorts - makes the kids put away their own clothes. Then he bathes Owain while I bathe Trin. Before we retire for the night for the usual bed-time routine, I do a quick 'round' of the living area to just pick up the cushions, neaten up the edges, put things away etc so even if the place has not really been 'cleaned', it looks clean!
The past few days have given me an idea of how full-time WOHMs (work-outside-home-moms) feel, particularly those with no live-in help. It's just exhausting to get home after a full day's work to be faced with kids who are clamouring for attention and with housework.
To be honest, I don't know how I am going to get through the next couple of days but will just get on with it. I think my mantra will be - don't be too ambitious. To do what is necessary and still give the kids and myself some down-time. Perfection will have to take a backseat.
It's the holidays so I will also have to plan some activity for the children or we will all go stark raving mad at home. So for a start tomorrow, I plan to bring them to the Children's Season at the Singapore Art Museum. The day after, maybe a hike in the southern ridges? Luge at Sentosa? Keep them busy and wear 'em out. That's my philosophy for sanity in the next couple of days.
I am also quite happy planning what to cook for the coming days. The shishamo experiment turned out well with my new grill pan and the kids are now fans. Looking forward to simple one-dish meals (experiments) too - seafood fried rice, crockpot beef stew, sesame seed chicken, chicken tempra?
I'll also have to give the older kids more chores eg mopping/sweeping - not on a daily basis but every alternate day?
The next few weeks are starting to look interesting... Will the kids and I make it out alive or will I prove myself to be the complete disaster of a domestic diva? Stay tuned.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
A local politician recently urged the government to allow Medisave to be used for vaccinations against cervical cancer. Along with the news story were quotes from gynecologists who felt that vaccination should be made mandatory for young girls.
Before they do that, maybe it’s just a better idea to allow Medisave to be used for routine health screening for women in general – specifically, one that includes PAP smears, pelvic ultrasounds and mammography. These costs of these screening tools (with the exception of the inexpensive PAP smear) are high and are a deterrent to many women from making regular screening a part of their lives.
The fact is, vaccination does not offer 100% protection. Cervical cancer is generally known to be a slow-growing cancer whose cure rates are high with early detection via the simple PAP smear. All it takes is awareness and education. Not mandatory vaccination. Lowering the risk of cervical cancer is not difficult – practice safe sex, avoid multiple partners. It’s a simple enough message that just needs to be shared more widely. The same message goes for HIV prevention, STD prevention, pregnancy prevention etc. In other words, the rare hereditary genetic element aside, cervical cancer can be largely prevented through lifestyle changes.
Right now, 3% of Singaporean women are vaccinated against cervical cancer. There are 200 cases of cervical cancer discovered yearly. Out of this, 100 women do not make it.
While I agree that even one death from a preventable cancer like cervical cancer is one death too many, I disagree that a blunt instrument like mandatory vaccination is the answer. In fact, vaccination might well lull one into a false sense of complacency that may lead to more permissive sexual attitudes.
We already have so many vaccinations in the childhood vaccination schedule – with growing calls to add vaccines for the rotavirus, the meningoccal virus and now, the human papilloma virus – where will it end? Above all, while everyone is quick to tout the benefits of vaccination, no one is in any hurry to examine the risks. Parents and women who consider these vaccinations need to be given a fairer and fuller picture – one that includes the efficacy rate of these vaccines, the ingredients that go into the vaccines, the adverse reactions that have occurred and the risk of developing these reactions. Doctors need to discuss these actively with their patients and not just brush off the risks involved just to sell patients a series of shots. Anything less than that is really just pure advertising and that would be a real disservice to those who are considering vaccination as an option.
Call me a cynic but I always throw in a shovelful of salt on anything publicly endorsed by politicians and doctors. In my book, the issue of vaccination has grown to be very big money to many pharma firms today. The stakes are high for everyone – governments, pharma firms, the medical community and not least, parents and children who will be the recipients of these enthusiastically recommended vaccines. More so than ever before, it’s caveat emptor for anyone contemplating these new ‘recommended’ vaccines.
Before they do that, maybe it’s just a better idea to allow Medisave to be used for routine health screening for women in general – specifically, one that includes PAP smears, pelvic ultrasounds and mammography. These costs of these screening tools (with the exception of the inexpensive PAP smear) are high and are a deterrent to many women from making regular screening a part of their lives.
The fact is, vaccination does not offer 100% protection. Cervical cancer is generally known to be a slow-growing cancer whose cure rates are high with early detection via the simple PAP smear. All it takes is awareness and education. Not mandatory vaccination. Lowering the risk of cervical cancer is not difficult – practice safe sex, avoid multiple partners. It’s a simple enough message that just needs to be shared more widely. The same message goes for HIV prevention, STD prevention, pregnancy prevention etc. In other words, the rare hereditary genetic element aside, cervical cancer can be largely prevented through lifestyle changes.
Right now, 3% of Singaporean women are vaccinated against cervical cancer. There are 200 cases of cervical cancer discovered yearly. Out of this, 100 women do not make it.
While I agree that even one death from a preventable cancer like cervical cancer is one death too many, I disagree that a blunt instrument like mandatory vaccination is the answer. In fact, vaccination might well lull one into a false sense of complacency that may lead to more permissive sexual attitudes.
We already have so many vaccinations in the childhood vaccination schedule – with growing calls to add vaccines for the rotavirus, the meningoccal virus and now, the human papilloma virus – where will it end? Above all, while everyone is quick to tout the benefits of vaccination, no one is in any hurry to examine the risks. Parents and women who consider these vaccinations need to be given a fairer and fuller picture – one that includes the efficacy rate of these vaccines, the ingredients that go into the vaccines, the adverse reactions that have occurred and the risk of developing these reactions. Doctors need to discuss these actively with their patients and not just brush off the risks involved just to sell patients a series of shots. Anything less than that is really just pure advertising and that would be a real disservice to those who are considering vaccination as an option.
Call me a cynic but I always throw in a shovelful of salt on anything publicly endorsed by politicians and doctors. In my book, the issue of vaccination has grown to be very big money to many pharma firms today. The stakes are high for everyone – governments, pharma firms, the medical community and not least, parents and children who will be the recipients of these enthusiastically recommended vaccines. More so than ever before, it’s caveat emptor for anyone contemplating these new ‘recommended’ vaccines.
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